


In the Valley of the Reindeer King

by beesquestionmark



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: AU where Kristoff really is a valiant pungent reindeer king, F/M, Getting lost in the woods, and someone ELSE is very protective!!!!!!!!!!, anna and kristoff both crave human contact but need to learn how to express that challenge, anna finds true peace and happiness when she's with people who love her, because SOMEONE is very headstrong, much like anna! who has been hidden both up in the woods and then down in the castle, only one bed trope, who has been incredibly socially isolated growing up in the mountains with the trolls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-02-19 11:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22743727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beesquestionmark/pseuds/beesquestionmark
Summary: The King and Queen were afraid Anna’s powers would be greater, perhaps even harder to control. So they hid her, with the only beings equipped to manage raw magic - the trolls. Since then, it has become clear that Anna is painfully ordinary and she is brought back to the castle. Many years pass. One night, she gets swept up with Hans, causing Elsa to lose control and freeze the kingdom. Anna knows she must go find the only person who can help thaw this - the thing of legends, the one of stories, the blond-haired boy she’s known since she was a little girl. The Reindeer King.
Relationships: Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 46





	1. Prologue

Anna didn’t like spending birthdays alone. It was the third time, and she still wasn’t used to it. She wasn’t sure she ever would be. Yes, Pabbie would come by a bit later - bring her a tea cake, tell her a story, really try to cheer her up, but it never warmed her all the way through. Because, even after all these years of being really good, of really trying, she was still here. And neither Mother nor Father could promise her a time where she could come home. ‘Eventually’, she quickly learned, was not a concrete time, and could be moved as desired. 

Her last year before becoming a teenager - she supposed it would’ve been a big deal, if she was someone else. She remembers Elsa’s twelfth birthday - there was a party and cake and all sorts of people from the kingdom were invited in. Food was served on small plates in miniature form. Elsa was gifted wildflowers in shiny pots and a foal that would one day be a racehorse. Anna thought of that now, because it made her happy.

Anna was brought here just over three years ago, to the place in the woods where the stones roll and talk, and she’s treated and talked to and kept calm. She’s given toys and lots of books and her parents visit - often! But they are rulers first, and parents second. And they could not come today. Anna is too young to understand but she says that she does. She’s almost a teenager, so almost an adult. She has to be tough, so she is.

Anna tries to walk the paths she knows she’s not supposed to - back down to the kingdom. Some days she makes it farther than others. On her way up she stared out the window the whole time, trying to memorize the path, so that she could retrace it. She knew the kingdom perfectly, up to the river that divides her old world and her new. She wants to go back. She misses Mom. She misses Dad. She misses Elsa. She misses her big bed and her stuffed animals and Gerda, who’d bring her treats after dinner even when she wasn’t supposed to have them. But Anna understands that she’s not allowed to come back. Not yet, not until they can be sure that whatever magic she might have can be controlled. Not until she can be really, really, good.

She tries. She’s spent years trying.

(it is not enough)

It’s not her fault that this started, but she wished she could end it. Elsa’s powers spiraled out of her control - out of everyone’s control. No one knew if it was in a curse or in her blood but Anna’s powers could develop just as rapidly and just as powerfully. So her parents sat her down and talked about being proactive, about nipping things in the bud, about other things that Anna did not understand, but said that she did (she was almost in doubt digits at the time; she was a big girl).

“Are you the other foundling?” 

Anna turned around. The boy staring back at her had broken her thinking, but he was company, and that was what she wanted more than anything. She wanted most things more than she wanted more time to think.

“A what?” she asked, stepping closer. She had not seen this boy before - she’d seen few people who weren’t her family or staff within the past three years. She didn’t even know there _were_ people up this far north - she thought it was just the trolls. He was tall, with messy blond hair. A reindeer stood behind him.

“A foundling.” he said. “I thought I was the only one. But I overheard them talking about you too, up in the north cabin.” 

“Oh,” Anna said. “I still don’t really know what a foundling is. But I suppose that must be me.”

“Someone who is found.” 

The reindeer stepped forward - he came up to the boy’s shoulder - and pushed his snout in through the window. 

Anna held out a hand gently, still close to her. “May I?”

The boy looked over to the reindeer. “You may.”

Anna pet the reindeer’s nose. It was soft one way, and rough the other. She giggled at the sensation. 

“Why are you here?” the boy pressed again, staring at her. 

Anna shrugged. “I’m here until it’s safe for me to go back.”

“To the kingdom?”

“To the kingdom.”

“Safe for them or for you?”

Anna didn’t know how to answer that one, so she shrugged. 

The boy didn’t seem to like that she didn’t have the answers, but he was unwilling to follow up or press her. “Okay.” he said simply, reaching out to pet the reindeer again as well.

“How do you get him to follow you?” Anna asked, about the reindeer. 

“Reindeer like me.” the boy said simply.

“Do you have a whole herd?” Anna half-joked.

The boy shrugged. He didn’t like answering questions. He didn’t really like asking them either, but some things tugged at him until he found himself walking up a mountain path to a cabin he never visited, seeking out the possibility. There were no other humans up here in the mountains - not permanently. They came when they needed help, and they left. They were always desperate. They never wanted to stay. They usually didn’t even _see_ him.

But he heard Pabbie talking about a girl, and he just had to talk to her. It was somebody. After all these years, it was somebody.

“Can you stay for a bit?” Anna asked, craving the company. 

The boy nodded. He pet the reindeer and looked him in the eyes, telling the creature to stay put for a bit as he walked around to the door. Anna bounced excitedly at this unexpected and unintentional birthday surprise. 

“I can’t stay for long, though.” the boy said. 

“Can you tell me your name?” she asked. 

He hesitated before saying it (she didn’t know why; she didn’t know how long it’d been since he’d even said his own name aloud), “Kristoff.” he said. 

“Lovely to meet you.” she smiled, practiced manners, organic kindness. “I’m Anna.”

He nodded, not knowing what came next. It was too human. He only had it within him to stay for fifteen minutes.

When Pabbie came that night he found Anna alone, and he brought news - there’d been a letter. As soon as the ambassador left (it was supposed to be tomorrow) her parents would be back with bells and a wagon to bring her back to the kingdom. It had been three years - she’d had no signs of any sort of magic, no impulses out of her control. She could come home.

She was ordinary.


	2. Down to Earth and Up the Mountain

By spring, Elsa had said, Anna should have a new home. The idea was thrilling. 

“Who have we written to?” Anna asked. She was sitting on the edge of Elsa’s desk, careful to not lean into the stacks of paper that always populated it, careful not to knock an inkwell over, careful to watch herself and her arms as she talked.

Finding Anna an appropriate husband is a communal effort - she is marrying for the kingdom, as well as her heart. Elsa considers the former, Anna the latter. It is a topic that warrants much discussion.

“Prince Jonathan, of Wales.” Elsa picked up one piece of correspondence. “Duke Edward, of France, and Prince Civan, of Turkey.” she picked up the other two and handed them back to Anna. They’d already been opened. 

“Do you think they’re handsome?” Anna hummed, running her finger over the broken seals. Each was a little bit of a man she could be married to within the year, if all went well. 

“I think other things are more important.” Elsa said honestly. 

“I know.” Anna shrugged, but hugged the letters to her chest. Each of them was a love story in the making. She’d run it over a thousand times in her head; a thousand ways. That one would write her letters that would turn from formal to friendly to loving. That he would sail into the Arendelle port and walk down the side of the ship and run into her arms. That he’d be handsome and strong and loving, busting with inside jokes and fun stories and ideas of what to do and explore. 

“But they all wrote back very favorably at the idea.” Elsa smiled. “You’ve a good reputation.” 

“Well finally I get to put that to use!” Anna laughed and shimmied her shoulders. “Just as I’ll get to tomorrow!!” 

Elsa drooped. Coronation day. Tomorrow was the first time the gates would be opened in years, filling the castle with hundreds of people, and all of them with their eyes trained on her. 

“I’m excited for you.” Elsa said. At least she could say that truthfully.

“We’ve got to get you to bed!” Anna said, enjoying her opportunity to mother. 

Elsa groaned. She knew Anna was right - but the sooner she went to bed, the sooner the morning came. 

“Oh, Elsa, aren’t you a little excited?” 

Elsa rolled her shoulders forward.  _ No _ . “A little.”

“Good!” Anna said. “I can’t  _ wait _ to see your dress!”

Elsa stood up and thinly smiled at Anna. They walked out together and split, heading for their separate bedrooms. As she brushed her hair before bed, Anna said a quick prayer, hoping that tomorrow Elsa would relax enough to let them have fun, like they used to before the magic got in the way of everything. Just one day, that’s all she wanted. She could go back to normal after that, even if normal wasn’t something she liked.

…

Anna teetered around her room - what was the difference between anxiety and excitement? The two words took up so much of the same space. 

Even in the morning light of her sister’s coronation she was still thinking of the letters - her three potential husbands, and trying to pick apart why exactly it felt wrong. She knew arranged marriages were common, especially among royals. She could name ten people off the top of her head that had had their engagements arranged, and they were just as happy as any other couple. 

Not to mention that, as far as she knew, these men were just as nice as anyone else she’d meet. Their correspondence had barely started - they could be funny, or smart, or loving, or anything else in the world. She didn’t know them, just like they didn’t know her. They were single, good political matches, and about her age. In that order. Each one of them could be the husband she’d dreamed of for so long.

It was just...she’s dreamt of this for so long. A companion, someone who would love her and listen to her and spend time with her. She had spent three years up in a cabin by herself, and the rest of her adolescence in the castle. People were nice to her, people were always nice. The staff would bring her books and things and ask how her day was. But nobody really,  _ really _ cared. They wanted to hear that she was well, but they weren’t prepared to deal with the opposite.

Anna knew people cared about her, but she really wanted someone to love her. Her staff wanted her well, Elsa wanted her established and satisfied. But her relationships with these people were formal and transactional in many ways. The staff cared about her because she was their princess, because she paid their wages, and because she really did try to be kind to them. Elsa - Elsa had been so cold for so long, it was hard for Anna to remember where the issue really started. Elsa did like her, and they talked, but it was always about the kingdom. Even Anna’s marriage was about the kingdom. 

But tonight, the gates would be opened and the castle would be filled for the first time in forever. There would be new friends and jokes and a huge spread of food. And there could be….there could be  _ him _ . That person who would spot her from across the room like she’d always dreamed, who’d be so drawn to her that he couldn’t resist coming over. Who knew, even before they spoke, that he’d scale a mountain just to get to her. Who would spend time with her, and be gentle, and really listen. Who would love her. That’s what she really wanted.

And, as far as she figured, tonight was her first chance to get it.

… 

It didn’t happen like that, but it happened. 

Anna found herself swept up in the gaze and attentions of a young prince from the Southern Isles - a man who was not even one of the top five options she and Elsa had parsed over. But he’d shown himself here tonight and revealed that his heart was as tender as Anna’s. He erased any doubt that could’ve existed about his intentions when he said;

“Will you marry me?”

Anna gasped, feeling more excited than she’d been in years. “Yes!”

Coronation day brought change, that’s what is so magical and important about it. After years of wishing, Anna had really met someone - he was handsome and sweet and maybe even awkward like her. His hair is shiny and red, his eyes are kind, his name is - wait, what was his name?

“What’s your name again?” Anna asked, walking arm in arm with her new fiance back to the castle.

He chuckled beautifully. “Hans. Feels a bit like a detail, doesn’t it?” 

“Seems kind of funny - this happening so fast.” Anna said.

Hans spun her as they walked and then pulled her in close. It’d been so long since someone pulled Anna in close. “I never thought this would happen to me. I thought that sort of love at first sight, the feeling that you get where you see someone and just  _ know _ was for other people. Luckier men. Not someone like me.” Hans said, dipping his head forward.

Anna felt her heart swell - she knew how he felt. She squeezed his hand. “Well it did happen to us. I can’t wait to tell Elsa.”

“She’s going to be so excited!”

“She will!” Anna said. “We’ve been talking about me getting married for months now. And I was worried about meeting them and not liking them and - wait, no, I shouldn’t have mentioned this, should I?” 

Hans didn’t seem put off by her bringing up other men. “I’m glad I got here before they did. I don’t think I could stand to lose you at this point.” 

Anna smiled as they stepped into the castle, nodding at the guards. They’d seen her and Hans running around all night, and were becoming used to the presence of the man - based on how they were acting, he’d be back. 

“Don’t worry.” she assured him. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

They pressed across the dance floor, through the other swirling couples. Anna was so happy to be one of them now. She hoped Elsa would be excited, but Elsa was so seldom excited. She liked to worry, pick things apart. It made Anna feel foolish sometimes, the way Elsa was able to find the adult sensibilities in everything.

“Elsa!” Anna exclaimed, running up to her sister, fiance in tow. “We came to ask your-”

“-your blessing-” Hans chimed in.

“-on our marriage!”

“What?” Elsa said, deadpan. 

“We’re engaged!”

“You can’t marry a man you just met.” Elsa said harshly. 

“You can, if it’s  _ true love _ .” Anna insisted. Didn’t Elsa recognize it, when it was right in front of her? Couldn’t she see her baby sister’s excitement? Didn’t that matter, wasn’t it something to think about before she answered?

But Elsa didn’t see that - she saw that it was foolish for Anna to agree to settle her heart and hand so quickly. She saw that marriage was a lifelong commitment, and Anna had dedicated a miniscule amount of her already short life to getting to know him. She saw her sister, and how quickly and desperately she jumped into any situation that let her feel warm. She saw future pain, and regret, and she didn’t want Anna to have more of that. 

But when Anna grabbed her glove, Elsa didn’t see anything. The fear that surged through her pushed out all reason and foresight. She threw out her hand and when she recovered, she saw that the secret she’d worked so hard to keep was out on display to an international audience. Elsa saw that she’d ruined her own existence.

So she ran.

...

Anna stood in the center of town, hoping that somehow Elsa would be hiding in a doorway. But of course she wouldn’t - that would be undignified, and that would let her be found. Anna knew, as soon as Elsa ran - really ran, fully sprinting out of the castle and across the bridge - that she would be gone until she was ready to be found. Anna wasn’t sure where Elsa was going, but Elsa ran like she knew. Like there was some place she’d fixed in her mind years ago, were things to ever get too bad.

Elsa never shared those kinds of thoughts with Anna, but Anna tried to conjure them out of thin air. Anna tried to understand. But Anna was ordinary, and she could not understand the depths of what Elsa was feeling. 

“Anna, there you are!” 

Anna turned to see Hans, wrapped in a cloak and a look of concern, walking towards her. 

“I’ve been looking all over for you, here. You must be freezing.” he’d brought several blankets with him and draped one around her shoulder. 

“Thank you.” Anna said, looking up at him. 

“Did you - did you know - ?” Hans said, looking around at the frozen city center. 

Anna shrugged, avoiding the question.

“Will she stop it?” Hans asked, sounding a little scared. “When will she unfreeze it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know where she went.” Anna said. “I don’t know a lot about magic. But I know someone who does.”

“What?”

“The Reindeer King, of course. I know the area he’s supposed to live in.” Anna said, looking up to the mountains in which she used to live. Or whatever you’d call how she spent those three years. 

“Isn’t - isn’t the Reindeer King a local legend?” Hans asked. 

“I don’t think so.” Anna said. “Lots of people have claimed to see him - he’s a healer too, you know. He helps people. He looks after the mountains and the nature up there.”

“Lots of people know how to heal. It doesn’t mean they know magic.” Hans said.

“I know,” Anna said. “But he was raised by the trolls. They know how to manage magic, and they taught him.” She didn’t want to mention that she knew the trolls knew magic because they treated Elsa and treated her. She didn’t want to mention that the Reindeer King may be a bedtime story now, but she knew him as a real live boy. Anna wasn’t fully sure why she didn’t want to share this with her fiance - she trusted him, she loved him, he was her fiance. But she wasn’t ready to share this part of her past yet, especially when the only magic Hans had likely seen was in Elsa’s loss of control. 

Hans pursed his lips, as if he was trying to hold his words in. “Are you sure about this?” he asked - scanning around the square. The people were scared, unsure of what happened and inappropriately dressed and equipped to handle it. The guards were milling, removed from the queen and unsure of what to do next. 

“Yes.” Anna said. She had not noticed these things. 

“Then let me do something to help.” Hans said, pulling her close again. Anna’s skin felt every speck of the sensation. Hans continued, “Let me look after the people; let me take care of your kingdom until you can be returned to it. I don’t want you to have to worry about a thing.”

“Oh, Hans, thank you.” Anna said, running her hands down his chest.

“We can be married quickly, and I can step up instantly from there.” he said, squeezing her waist. “We can honeymoon once this is over and fixed.” 

Anna bit her lip. She was glad he was so excited to get married, and she wanted the day just as badly as he did, but she wanted the day. She’d waited so long for this. It wasn’t about the attention, or the status, but she had so few days of public existence that hse wanted this one she was entitled to. 

“When I get back we’ll be married, okay?” Anna said. “I can appoint you to a temporary official capacity until then, alright?” 

Hans furrowed his brow. “Do you not trust me?” he said, hurt clear in his voice.

“No, no!” Anna insisted, pressing herself closer. “I just - I want the whole day with you. I want the planning and tastings and the balls. I want to spend the time with you, and celebrate our union as everything it deserves.”

Hans smiled at this and stooped to kiss her forehead. “You have the biggest heart, Anna. I’ll be sure to do everything right once you’re back.”

Anna smiled and hugged him before pulling apart. “Guards, my horse please!” she called out. “I hereby appoint Prince Hans to be the temporary ruler, until my discharge. Oh, and could someone fetch my cloak as well?”

“Be careful Anna, okay?” Hans said, as Anna’s things were quickly brought to her. “Things are dangerous up in the woods. You never know what will happen.” 

Anna looked down at her fiance. “Take good care of the kingdom, Hans. I’ll find the Reindeer King, and I’ll get my sister back. I’ll fix this.” it was a promise to herself more than a promise to him.

…

The winds swirled around his cabin, which was the first thing that caused Kristoff alarm. It was midsummer, and he was feeling cold, as though the winds were piercing through the cabin. He rose up from the table he was sitting at and walked to the window, which was closed and covered. He opened the curtain just a few inches, pinching the homespun fabric between his fingers.

“What?” he said, in disbelief of the snow, the  _ snow _ that flurried outside. It wasn’t strong, but the winds were a sign that it soon would be. 

He pulled on his boots and a linen shirt and stepped outside. He was cold, the snow was real. His eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, there was a blizzard in  _ summer _ . 

“Oh Sven.” Kristoff turned to his friend, who was now huddled against the cabin. “Something’s coming. It’s bad.”

Sven snorted in response.

“Well, that’s just pessimistic.” Kristoff said. “I’ll get dressed properly, then we better go check everything out.”

The winds picked up.


	3. Am I Still Familiar to You?

Anna drew her cloak around her as she stood by the edge of the river. The winter had frozen it over and she took a look at the sturdiness of it, testing it with her weight. It stood firm, and she crossed over. Funny, how often she had dreamed of walking over it and back to the castle all those years ago. And now she was going back.

“It was pretty.” Anna said aloud, to herself. It was a way she was very familiar talking. “I liked how it looked in the winters, with the snows on the branches and the squirrels that would run across. I wonder if the same squirrels will be there, even though it’s been almost a decade. Maybe I can meet their children.”

She looked up and around as she climbed the mountain, up the path she’d been brought up when she was just a child.  _ Do you remember me?  _ She wanted to call out.  _ Am I still familiar to you? _ Anna closed her eyes and walked up the path by feel, putting sure foot in front of sure foot. 

Anna slipped, and toppled down several feet. Mumbling under her breath, Anna pulled herself up and kept going. The walk wasn’t very long - probably about 30 minutes - but it was snowing still, and already a bit icy, and she knew it would take her longer. 

It was all too easily her thoughts turned to who would be waiting for her at the top. The Reindeer King - she knew it had to be the boy who’d met her at the cabin. There had been too many sightings of him, too many townspeople who’d gone to him for help. He had to be real, and Anna couldn’t think of who else it’d possibly be.

Would he remember her? They’d shared maybe fifteen minutes only - but it had meant the world to Anna. Someone who came to her, not out of obligation or parental duty, but because he wanted to talk. Someone her own age who sat with her, even though he was eventually too overwhelmed to stay (though, for the life of her, she never knew why he felt that way). 

She’d considered that the entire mythos that surrounded the Reindeer King could be another man - maybe an actual legend or a misidentified creature someone saw in fleeting. But the townspeople talked about a healer up in the mountains - he was a bit scary and very mysterious, but he did good work. If someone was sick in a way that the village doctors couldn’t understand or couldn’t deal with, they came up to him. 

Anna knew he was good, because she could tell. She had an intuition about people in this way, and it only took fifteen minutes with him for her to feel safe. To feel better than she had in months. And, moreover, the reindeer liked him. There was one with him that night he came to visit her, and every story of him involved him being surrounded by a small herd. If you’re looking for the Reindeer King, the townspeople would advise, simply follow the hoofprints. 

Anna slid again - what she would give for a pair of proper climbing boots! But, being a princess, she never had use for such things. Stupid short sighted advisors, never understanding the likelihood that one’s sister accidently freezes the entire kingdom one summer. It probably happened to other people before. But she hunched over and kept climbing. 

Eventually, she reached the top. 

The Reindeer King was nowhere to be seen. There was a swirling snow that had long covered the terrain, and trees still heavy with summer leaves and freezing fruit already coated. There were no houses, no trails, no signs. 

But that didn’t really matter, since Anna knew to look for the prints.

...

Kristoff knew the deer were hearty enough for the winter - they were quite literally built for it. But they weren’t expecting winter to come, and he wanted to check in on them. There were some very young deer that were deprived of several months of key growth. He had a bag of blankets on his back.

Anna walked through the wooded area, scanning for prints, listening for steps. She hadn’t even seen a deer in so long! She picked up her skirts and took big steps through the snow - there! She saw a few tracks leading to the right. 

Kristoff knew where the deer liked to rest, and how they moved throughout the woods during the day. He headed to the most likely spot, taking large steps and looking for their prints. He found them easily, but they never tried to hide from him. 

Anna saw him before she saw the deer. She’d come up the mountain and around the corner, walked through trees that were quickly losing their leaves. She saw him walking the same direction she was, back to her. Shaggy blond hair, but much taller, much larger than he was when she’d seen him all those years ago. 

“Kristoff!”

Anna settled back on her heels for only a second before walking forward to him.

Kristoff froze. It had been years since he’d heard his own name spoken aloud. He was used to the townspeople calling him the Reindeer King, which he found funny. Or Healer, which he found humbling. Or Sir, which was also kind of funny because he was the furthest thing from a Sir that he could think of. No one really knew his name, not down in the kingdom. No one asked. It didn’t matter, he performed his services anyway. 

Anna stepped in front of him, bright blue eyes and braided back hair. His heart dropped into his stomach when he realized - it was the girl from his youth, back at last.

...

Kristoff wasn’t really sure how this happened. Yes, technically, he had invited her inside and back to his cabin - he remembered saying the words as he was thinking them. But he must’ve expected, must’ve pictured something else in that second between envisioning this option and selecting it, because he did not expect her to be seated so comfortably at his dining room table, nattering away.

“-so then I was like, Elsa, you have to talk to me about these things. And she was just really upset and it was over a book she was reading. But my point is that it’s not just a book, right? Like it is. Physically it was a book and some character was dead or dying, I didn’t really ever get that out of her and I don’t have a lot of time to read - there’s just so much else to do you know? Like I like reading, and I know how to read, but that’s something for rainy days, or - what was I saying? Oh yeah. The point is that it’s a book, a fictional story, and I’m just trying to get her to talk and she won’t even tell me about it and I don’t know why, and she can’t know-”

“Ah-hem.” Kristoff cleared his throat. “Could I, uh, get you something to drink?”

“Oh, yes. Something warm please.” Anna nodded. She shook her head, like she was trying to reset her brain.

Anna sat up straighter and watched him as he moved to make the tea. The fire had already been stoked up to keep the cabin warm, and he took water from a bucket and hung it on a hook over the flame. He took two clay mugs from a cabinet (they were lumpy and a bit large, they looked like they’d been made by hand by someone very unpracticed) and set them down on the table - one in front of her, one in front of him. 

“It’s a good thing you didn’t bring friends.” he said, a bit of a smile on his lips. “I only have two mugs.”

“I could’ve drunk the tea out of my cupped hands.” Anna offered.

“Yes, I’m sure the burns would be very comfortable.”

“Oh, you get used to it.” Anna shrugged. 

“Use your hands instead of cups a lot?”

“Only when we’re running low.”

“Very charitable of you.” Kristoff teetered over his next words before saying them. “So, Anna...what is it that brings you here?”

Kristoff had thought of her in their near decade apart - she was such a strange thing to see, all limbs and freckles, stuck up in the woods and clearly upset about it. He remembered the quick jutting movements she made when she talked or gesticulated, and they were still a part of her storytelling now. 

But though his thoughts of her were infrequent, they were not usually fond memories. Pabbie had told Kristoff why she was here - that’s how he learned of her existence in the first place. And Kristoff had overheard more than he was perhaps intended to know. There was a risk that she had powers, that hers could be uncontrollable, or cause pain unintentionally - to herself, or to others. She had been observed, she had been given potions to both calm her down (prevent the development) and stress her out (provoke the powers to reveal themselves), but neither had done much and she was sent back down the mountain.

But maybe, Kristoff had sometimes wondered, maybe she didn’t spend enough time up on the mountains with him. Maybe she should’ve been observed for longer, tested more ardently. Perhaps they had let her go too soon. Kristoff ran these thoughts through his head as he lifted the water from the fire, and poured it into the mugs he made.

He didn’t want this to be the reason she came back. Fortunately, he was in luck.

“Well, this.” Anna gestured to the snow lightly swirling outside. 

“Right. Do you know what’s causing that?” Kristoff said.

“It’s my sister, Elsa. Did you - did you know she has ice powers?”

“Yes, Pabbie didn’t tell me everything about your situation, but I know some.” 

“Well, that makes this easier.” Anna said. “She just freaked out and froze the kingdom and,” Anna sighed, exasperated, as though her sister had just forgotten to bring in the trash. “Then she ran off - I don’t really know where - and I don’t know how to find her but before I do, I have to handle this.” Anna gestured around to the snow again, in case Kristoff had somehow forgotten that it was snowing in midsummer.

“Right. Okay. And how exactly are you going to do that?”

“You.” Anna said simply. 

“Anna, I don’t have ice powers.” 

“I know you don’t.” Anna said, chipper. That was hardly a roadblock here. “But there’s a reason that my parents brought Elsa here, and me as well. You know how the magic works, you know how to see it, or manage it, and once you figure out what will stop all of this, I’ll do it. But I need you down in the kingdom.”

Kristoff froze. “Down in the kingdom?”

“Yeah! We can walk down, though if you have a sleigh it’ll be much easier.” 

“Anna, I can’t go down to the kingdom.” 

“Well, can you figure out the problem from up here?”

He couldn’t lie about that. “No. The magic originated from the kingdom, right?”

“Yes, from the castle.”

“I would need to be down there, I’d need to be in it to understand.” 

“Well, then you have to come down.” Anna said, leaning in. “Please, Kristoff. I don’t know who else to go to.”

“Anna, it’s not that I don’t want to help-”

“Then do.  _ Please _ . Whatever you need, whatever it takes. We can pay, we can put you up in the castle-”

“It’s not about money.”

“Then what is it?”

Kristoff leaned back, slumping. He didn’t know what to say, but he also didn’t know how to say it, which was worse. How could she possibly understand? Would she laugh? He had no reason to distrust Anna, but no real reason to trust her either. She was a girl he’d interacted with for fifteen minutes before she sat up here in his home. That wasn’t exactly a lifetime of friendship. Years had passed now. She was likely different from whoever she was back then anyway. 

He took a chance. “It’s not that I don’t want to leave the mountain, it’s that I  _ can’t _ .”

Anna shook her head. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been separated from the trolls for a while. It’s a long story. But, when I departed, they put a spell on me. I can’t leave the mountain. If I do, things start to die.”

“What?” Anna said softly, eyes full of concern. Of course this was important. Of course he could not leave. 

“Plants first - trees lose their buds, flowers wither. Animals start to die after that. If I don’t come back, then it’ll all crumble down and turn to dirt. I’m responsible to these mountains, to these creatures. I owe them my life. And they’ll have it.” 

Anna didn’t hesitate before asking, “Can the spell be broken?”

Kristoff paused before answering this too. “Yes, but it may take some time.”

“I will stay, then.” Anna said firmly. “I will help.”


	4. Two Needles

Anna hadn’t come prepared to stay; she had no clothes, no food, no supplies. 

“I don’t have any spare skirts or anything,” Kristoff said. “But I’ve got food and blankets and soap and water.” 

“I wish my gown was more practical.” Anna pursed her lips. “Do you have scissors? And a needle and thread?”

“Yes.” Kristoff pulled them out of a drawer and turned around to root through a trunk. 

Anna looked at her gown in front of a mirror. The skirt was full, but mostly because of the petticoats. The top was comfortable, but it left her arms and shoulders exposed. Anna unbuttoned the outer skirt and slid it off - it was heavy and embroidered. While it would be warm, it would also be cumbersome. Her petticoats were thick, and only the outer one was lacy. She slipped that off too and stood in the cream-colored skirt. It was not proper for a palace, but she was not in one anymore.

“Here.” Kristoff said, stepping up behind her. He held out a sweater. It was his, and clearly too large. 

Anna took it and ran her hands over the stitches. The knitting was clumsy and imperfect but functional, with large stitches and thick maroon yarn. It was soft. She slid it over her head and it fell to her mid-thighs, with the sleeves five inches past her hands. 

Anna laughed at the sight of herself and spun around. Kristoff snorted and reached down to roll up the sweater cuffs. His hands were big, but he moved slowly, carefully, as to not touch her. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. He just wanted her to be warm. 

“It’s cold, but not frigid. Between this and your cloak, you should be fine to go out.”

“Perfect!” Anna smiled, bouncing a little. “So, how is this spell broken?”

Kristoff shifted his weight between his feet and then took a step back from her. He didn’t really know how to put this; he’d never shared it with another human. He’d never shared anything with another human. And now he just had to come up with the words off the cuff. 

“My spirit, my soul, my something, I don’t know what to call it, fills up the whole forest. I’m the only person up here, the only person who knows what the trolls do. So, I guess the best way to put it, is that I’m such a part of the woods up here that if I leave, a vital part of the ecosystem leaves. And then things start to die. It can’t just be me, if I am to leave. I need you to be a part of this too, so it can break how tightly I am bound to all of this.” 

“And if it’s both of us, as a part of the woods, it’ll be okay for you to leave?”

“I think so. That’s the only way I can see how.” Kristoff said.

“And if both of us are a part of the woods, we can both leave and go back to town?”

Kristoff shrugged. “It’s not a science. I know it’d be fine for a while. If all the bugs left, the birds would be fine for a little bit. We might need to trade off spaces. Maybe if it’s not just me, the woods will adapt. It’s the only lead I have.”

Anna didn’t press him too much more. She didn’t need an airtight plan, she just needed a lead, and this was enough to get started. Everything else could be figured out as time went on. “I want to see the woods.” Anna said, looking out the window. Snow was still falling, more gently now. “Even when I was up here, I didn’t go out in them much.”

“Why not?”

“Sulking.” Anna snorted. She rolled her neck and said. “And I knew I was supposed to be up there. A part of me was afraid that if I left at all...I just wouldn’t come back.”

“Well,” Kristoff said, taking another step back to take her in. “it appears you have.”

… 

Elsa felt more at peace than she had in years, maybe ever. Certainly since childhood. She’d dreamed of being up in the mountains for years now. When things in the palace got too difficult she would lay down and close her eyes, picturing a castle up in the sky, away from her problems and the people and her anxiety. Where she could be alone. Where she could fully breathe. 

She wasn’t happy that it’d happened this way - she was sure the townspeople would never forgive her for not only having ice powers, but for hiding them. And revealing it in a loss of control. While they all hadn’t seen it happen, they all had to face the brunt of the after effects. There would be no allowance that maybe the attendees were exaggerating, no talking herself down by saying that everyone probably remembered it differently than her. The results were as plain as could be, and that left very little room for grace.

Elsa could stay up in these mountains forever, living her life of solitude like she’d dreamed of for so long. Living in a place where she could be herself fully, unbridled. But this was all save for one consideration.

Anna. 

True, Anna was smart enough and kind enough to run the kingdom by herself, but she didn’t deserve to have it dumped into her lap like it had so unfortunately happened. Elsa didn’t mean for it to happen this way, she just snapped. And, sadly, she couldn’t change it any more for the fact of wanting to.

Elsa paced a bit, mulling it over. She wasn’t ready to go back, not by a long shot. And were she to do so, she might just break down again and make things even worse. That wouldn’t be good for her, for the kingdom, or for Anna. 

Anna was clever enough to keep the kingdom together, at the very least, until Elsa could find the strength to return. Until she could figure out what exactly it was that made her hold herself at such a boiling point she could melt down at the snatching of a glove.

Elsa knew that part of this was just platitudes - she wanted to run; she wanted to leave more than she wanted anything else. More than she wanted to be queen, to be a sister, to be anything. It had to happen eventually, because she could only overpower her own heart for so long. 

And she wanted to stay, almost just as much. Being here, away from everything, in a place that was hers, that was safe... that was everything she truly ever wanted. It was selfish to admit, but she cared about this more than she cared about the kingdom. Which meant that the kingdom deserved a better ruler, someone who wanted to be there, who had the confidence to trust their next steps. Elsa had always assumed that ruling was like parenting - you might not know the specifics, and you may do some things improperly, but overall it was instinctual, right? Cradling a kingdom in her hands was nothing like that - every move she made she distrusted, and many of them were wrong.

There had to be another way to do this. Anna could take over instead of going off to live with whichever man she married -  _ God _ . 

Elsa shook her head, thinking of Hans. Okay, Anna was smart, but she was also very stupid. Just walking up and louding announcing before the whole ballroom that she was going to marry some man she’d known for all of forty-five seconds! It was maddening. 

But they couldn’t be married right away, right? Okay, functionally, perhaps they could, but Elsa knew Anna. Anna would want a proper wedding, with catering and a band and as many people who could fit in the ballroom. Anna would need time to plan that, so Elsa would have time here. To think. To heal. To just have a little bit of peace, if only for a moment.

Elsa breathed deeply. She would handle her sister’s marriage. She would handle the management of the kingdom. In due time. Now, for once, she was going to get some rest.

…

“Are you ready to turn in?” Kristoff asked.

Anna yawned suddenly at the suggestion. Perhaps she was more tired than she thought. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” he smiled. 

Anna stood up and looked at the bed -  _ oh _ . The only bed.

“Um, I’ll just-” Anna looked around. 

Kristoff looked confused at her reaction, and then the reality of it dawned on him. She was a princess, an unmarried woman, and alone in his cabin. He was an idiot for not thinking of this before. 

“You take the bed, of course.” Kristoff said quickly. “I’ve got a bedroll.”

“But it’s your house-” Anna said quickly.

“Nonsense. I wish I could offer you better accommodations but I can’t, so let me give you what I can.” Kristoff insisted. 

Anna bit her lip and looked up at him. 

“Really.” Kristoff said. “Do you know how many nights I spend sleeping out in the woods? This is luxurious.” He gestured to the bedroll. 

“If it’s so luxurious, maybe I should do it.” Anna said coyly.

“No, sorry! Claimed it already.” Kristoff smiled. “You’ll have to take the stupid squishy bed.” 

Anna smiled. “Well, I suppose! Your house, your rules.” 

“For now.” Kristoff said. 

“To which part?”

He didn’t answer. 

… 

They woke with the sun the next morning - per usual, for Kristoff. Too early for Anna. But she dressed and ate the oats he made her and they set out to see the land. To set herself upon it. There was lots of space in the woods, Anna knew this now, so she talked to fill the space. 

“Do you get visitors often?” she asked, looking up at Kristoff as they continued walking. 

“Look, you can still see acorns attached.” Kristoff pointed up to the tree branches. “This will confuse the squirrels.”

Anna giggled a little, in spite of herself.

“But to answer your question,” Kristoff continued. “I do not.”

“But people talk about coming up to visit you!”

“No,” Kristoff shook his head. “They don’t come to visit, they come for services. No one comes up to chat - which is fine, I don’t blame them - but they don’t ask me questions that don’t pertain to themselves.” _ I haven’t had a proper conversation in a decade. _

“Oh,” Anna said, humming for a second. “Well, then I want you to talk about whatever you want.” 

Kristoff shook his head. “Tell me about you, instead.”

“Why?” Anna said, not understanding the implications of her instinctual answer. 

“Because I want to know.” Kristoff nudged her a little, so gently he barely tapped her.

“Well, aside from the time up in the mountains, I’ve lived my whole life in Arendelle. My sister, Elsa, has ice powers and caused all of this, as you know but, um, that’s been pretty okay otherwise. My parents were very sweet but they, uh, died several years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks. Um,”

“But what do you enjoy? What do you like?”

Anna had had years of solitude in order to discover hobbies and she had the funds and staff to make sure that she was appropriately supplied. But all that she had done since those castle doors shut was done in only her own company, and she didn't like that. So she didn’t like anything, not enough to have it stick to her ribs anyway.

So she answered generically, “I like sewing. Drawing. Going on walks.”

“Well, we’re on a walk right now.”

Anna smiled. 

“Can you climb trees? Or do princesses not do that?”

“Regardless, I do that.” Anna said, bouncing a little. 

“Okay, this tree is perfect for it.” Kristoff siad. “If you can get up, you can oversee the whole woods.” 

Anna all but flung herself onto the tree, hoisting herself up. Kristoff chuckled a little, unable to help himself as she scrambled up like some sort of emboldened squirrel.

“This tree is strong so you can go pretty far up.” Kristoff called up. “Once you go forward, you’ll see all the valleys and the forest.” 

Anna slid out as far as she could manage on a branch and looked out. Snow covered everything, with peaks of green of the trees and the bushes. It seemed to sparkle, all the ice crystals over everything. 

“It’s beautiful.” Anna said, so quietly Kristoff barely heard it. 

“It really is. It’s why I love being up here so much.” 

“Yeah, I suppose I don’t really blame you for never going back to town. Well, that and the whole ‘not your choice’ aspect of it.” 

“Yeah, that’s a factor for sure.” 

Anna breathed in deeply and leaned forward, exhaling as long as she could, like she was trying to will her soul out of her body. She scooted back and climbed down, landing with a thump. 

“I can’t wait to show this to Hans.” Anna smiled up at him.

“Hans?” 

“He’s my fiance!” Anna twirled and looked back at Kristoff, whose face was blank. 

“Oh - how long have you two been engaged?”

“About a day.” Anna smiled. 

“So very recent.” Kristoff nodded.

“It was a whirlwind!” Anna said, filling the space of the forest with her feelings. “We met last night-”

“Wait. What?” Kristoff interrupted, whipping his head to look at her.

“Last night. Please listen more closely.”

“I was hoping I’d misheard!” Kristoff said. “You can’t get engaged to a man you just met!”

“Sure can! Just did!”

“No, but you shouldn’t!” Kristoff said. “You don’t know anything about him?”

“I know I love him!” Anna insisted.

“What’s his birthday?”

“He seems like a Scorpio.”

“Favorite food?”

“Sandwiches!” 

“Why isn’t he here?”

“He’s guarding the kingdom.”

Kristoff looked gruffly down at Anna.  _ You don’t know this person. They could be entirely different from what you expect. You don’t really know how they feel about you. You’re letting yourself feel things too quickly. It’s only because you spent so much time alone. Do you love them, or the idea of them? And is that even love, or just infatuation? _ The words he could say bubbled up so easily, because they were the same things he had been saying to himself ever since Anna arrived.  _ She’s a girl you knew only briefly, years ago, get ahold of yourself. _

“I’ll bring him up here when all this is over and done with.” Anna promised. “You’ll see for yourself.”

“I look forward to it.” Kristoff lied.

Anna wondered what Hans would do if he was up here with her. With them. He was so warm and supportive about helping the kingdom. Maybe he’d gather her up in his arms and tell her everything would be alright. Maybe he would’ve kissed her, out here in the snow. Maybe he would’ve done a thousand different perfect, beautiful things that existed only in her imagination. 

But he could possibly do them and, for now, couldn’t that be enough?

… 

They continued walking, with Kristoff showing Anna the trees and the plants that were still alive, despite the sudden and brutal cold. They didn’t talk any more of Hans, which Kristoff had started to feel bad about. He shouldn’t have snapped - he didn’t know her, he didn’t know Hans. Maybe he was a very nice man. Maybe they’d have a long and wonderful life together, toasting each other with fine champagne and laughing about how people had doubted them, but it didn’t matter. They were here, together, anyway. 

“Here, sit very quietly.” Kristoff said, crouching down. 

“Why!”

“Quietly.” Kristoff said.

“Why?” Anna whispered. 

“There’s a rabbit.” Kristoff pointed at the trembling white rabbin, tucked into the base of a tree.

“Bunny!” Anna breathed. 

“If you’re very still, very careful, I think he’ll approach us.” 

Anna tried to relax her breathing as much as she could, diverting her gaze to a few inches above the rabbit, as to appear disinterested. To let the bunny feel safe. To let it feel in control. 

“Be very careful.” Kristoff whispered. “If it gets close, we can grab it, and I’ll make it for dinner.”

“What! No!” Anna exclaimed, whipping her head around.

Kristoff laughed a little at her disbelief. “What’s the matter?”

“I can’t eat that cute little bunny!” Anna pointed to the area where there was once a cute little bunny, but it had run far away by now.

Kristoff shrugged. “What me to find an ugly one?”

“How could you eat a tiny baby bunny?!”

“It was fully grown.”

“It’s a bunny!!!!”

“It’s the way of life.” 

“Kristoff, you take care of these animals!”

“And this way, they take care of me too. I’m humane about it.”

“Humane! Imagine!” Anna said.

“Do you eat meat?”

“Well-” Anna crossed her arms. “I don’t  _ meet _ it first.” 

“It’s just the way things are.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Anna insisted. 

Kristoff looked over at her, rolling his eyes a little. 

…

They did not eat the bunny. After a bit more of a walk, full of snow-covered mushrooms and grass stalks, Kristoff and Anna headed back to his cabin to forage for something that was a bit less adorable.

Kristoff heated up some oats and put a pat of butter on top of each bowl. They sat on the floor in front of the fire. 

“So what exactly did you want to turn these into?” Kristoff picked up the skirts that Anna had discarded earlier.

Anna took the needle and thread from the morning and put it in her pocket. “I can cut this into a proper shirt.” she said, tracing the sleeves and bodice with her finger. “And it’ll probably be much more comfortable than the bodice I have now.”

“I’m sure.” Kristoff agreed. 

Anna bit her lip. “I’ve never made a shirt before.”

“I can help.” Kristoff said. “Show me the shape you want again.” 

Anna did, and Kristoff wrapped the fabric around her waist very gently. He didn’t know how to touch her, he didn’t know how to touch anyone in a way that wasn’t healing them. He had some notions of social propriety - secondhand knowledge mostly - but he knew that putting his hands on her would be something undignified for her, something too forward. She was a woman, and a princess. She was not to be touched by men like him. 

Anna did not seem to balk at his proximity, and instead lifted her arms up to let him get a good fit. He wrapped, cut, and then they pinned the pieces together. 

“Do you think we could get this done by tomorrow?” Anna asked. 

“I’ve got two needles, I’m sure we can.” Kristoff said. 

Anna smiled at him. It felt like working on a project with a friend. When she was younger, she would sew doll clothes with Elsa. The outfits were imperfect but finished quickly, and the real product was the time they spent together. 

She watched Kristoff work - his large hands handled the needle with clear practice but clumsy instinct. His stitches were large and imperfect, but certainly functional, and he had a sleeve together much more quickly than Anna. 

They ate and worked in silence - Kristoff was very used to the quiet, though he didn’t mind the other changes.

...

On the first day, Anna had walked the land. She did not know how many days it would take to let a part of her be sealed to it, but with the warmth in her heart starting to build, she suspected it wouldn’t take very long at all.


	5. Two Kings

“Do you want to see the deer today?” Kristoff asked that morning, as they ate their oatmeal at the table.

Anna smiled brightly. “Yes!” 

“They’ll like you.” Kristoff could say. He didn’t really mean anything by it, but Anna was beaming at him when he looked up. His heart froze for a second. But he smiled at her and went back to eating.

Anna wore the clothes they had made together last night; a looser shirt and a more functional skirt. She still slipped his too-large sweater over the whole outfit. She tied her cape back around her shoulders and was ready to head out with him. 

“How do you know where the deer are?” Anna asked.

Kristoff paused for a second. He’d never really thought about the question before. “I just sort of do, at this point. When I was younger I learned to follow their tracks, to look for disturbances. To keep quiet and follow the silence. But at this point they trust me, and I know the signs like an intuition. I sort of end up where I’m supposed to be.”

“I wish I could say the same.” Anna said. 

“What do you mean?”

Anna huffed a little, at herself. “Most of the time I just feel like I do the wrong thing. I always say the wrong thing, or break something, or speak when I should've kept silent. Every time I open my mouth I regret it later.”

“You shouldn’t.” Kristoff said, standing up and taking her empty bowl and his to put them out of the way. “Whenever you speak you say such lovely things. I’d hate to not have heard them.” 

Anna watched his back as he scrubbed the dishes out the window with a bucket of water, mouth slightly agape. He didn’t know her - not really, right? Then how did he know just what to say? And why did it feel like he really meant it?

… 

_ I can’t wait to show this to Hans! _

Kristoff had that sentence rattle around his head all night, disturbing him from sleep and keeping him from peace. He was an idiot. 

He’d read too much into her coming up here - he knew why she was here. She had been very clear. There was a terrible curse on the kingdom and she didn’t know who else to ask. It made sense, and it was a full story. It wasn’t hiking up a mountain for a cup of sugar, and why should he have taken the liberty of hoping anyway?

Kristoff didn’t think of Anna often - there wasn’t much to think about. He learned of her existence and went to her, dehydrated from lack of human contact, craving and fearing its warmth in the same breath. They sat together. He’d never seen a human again who wasn’t asking for his help. He was asking for hers. 

He more wondered about her - what she’d grown up to be like (kind, cheerful, optimistic, sweet), how she looked (like spring), if she remembered him (so it seemed). It was nice to have answers to those questions, it was more than he deserved. He should be grateful instead of sulking. There was nothing to sulk about - what else had he wanted?

Nothing. But that was the past tense.

Now he looked at her, and spent time with her, and he enjoyed it. He enjoyed having her around. He liked helping her sew, and showing her the woods. Her wonderment was discovering it anew for himself. When she used the pad of her pointer finger to tap a mushroom with a gentle _ tap tap tap  _ Kristoff wondered if she’d kiss just as delicately. He shouldn’t think like that, it was a waste of his time. It didn’t matter. 

Anna was out of his reach in every way but the literal. She was a member of society, she was a princess, she was engaged. In that order. He didn’t even know what he wanted from her. He’s not sure he was ever taught the words. 

But when he saw her, snug and wrapped in his giant sweater, smiling as they headed out the door, he couldn’t fight the instinctual thought -  _ I can’t give her up. _

The deer were very easy to find - they always were. They expected Kristoff by now, recognized him. He wasn’t as close with all of them as he was with Sven, but there weren’t many deer like Sven. 

Anna grabbed the side of Kristoff’s coat, down by his hip. He looked down at her hand, then up at her face, mouth open, eyes wide. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“There’s so  _ many _ .”

Kristoff supposed that were true, especially for someone who hadn’t seen many deer before. The deer were in a group of about 20, eating leaves that weren’t yet dead and keeping each other warm by proximity. 

“It’s okay.” he assured her, lifting her hand from his coat but holding it instead. “They’re curious, that’s all.”

“They don’t mind that I’m here?”

_ What an odd question. _ “They’re thrilled to see you.” Kristoff promised. 

“Can I pet one?”

“If they’ll let you.” Kristoff said.

Anna, still holding his hand, stepped forward confidently, walking up to the deer. They bristled a little at the stranger, but they saw that she was really only an extension of Kristoff, and they trusted him. 

“Hello.” Anna cooed, looking down at a doe. She raised her free hand, slowly and gently, letting the deer become accustomed to her. She reached out and stroked the doe between the ears, smiling as the deer simply continued chewing leaves. 

Kristoff smiled, watching this. The deer would come around his cabin fairly often, sometimes they were there when people were coming up for healing services. The people often reacted with fear, sometimes calling the herd a ‘swarm’, sometimes trying to chase them away until Kristoff put a stop to it. Kristoff didn’t understand why people reacted this way but, then again, he didn’t understand people.

But watching Anna coo at and pet the deer, watching her break away from him to let them gather around her, he understood that.

That couldn’t mean nothing.

...

“I want orders issued stating that any sights of magic - even suspected magic must be reported” Hans said to a guard.

“Ice magic?”

“Any magic.” Hans said firmly. “Who knows what other powers Elsa may have.” 

(He’d stopped calling her Queen Elsa three days ago. No one had really noticed.)

“Of course.”

“It’s dangerous out there, and my responsibility is to care for the good citizens of Arendelle. I’d rather be safe than sorry, always.”

(This was true.)

For the most part, Hans’ rule had been taken without bristle. It was all within reason - Princess Anna, acting as Queen, had appointed him as temporary ruler. His authority was legitimate. Since then, he’d been protective about any signs of magic, ordered the kingdom scoured, and gathered up supplies to aid the people. His rule was reasonable. 

So the guards listened and, frankly, took a liking to him. Hans was firm but warm, profusely thanking the guards and moving amongst the people with the comfort of a born Arendellian. He handed out supplies himself, was seen with blankets and cloaks that he draped over children and shivering women. He directed them towards the great hall which was always open, always warm, and full of soup, warm bread, and hot beverages. 

He made sure to go down and thank the cooks, and see that they had enough staff to rotate out reasonably. Firewood was distributed for free as people opened up their fireplaces for the first time since March. He told people that Elsa had unleashed a winter of unknown power, and that they should prepare that the winter may not end for a while. He tried to be as reassuring as possible - it will be alright, we’re doing everything we can - but he did not hide from the people what their former (?) queen had done.

Hans knew the winter wasn’t ending, not any time in the foreseeable future anyway. There was no sign, and he had no clue how to end it. Elsa had run off, leaving everything behind except for a clue as to where she was going. Hans couldn’t help but wonder (hope) that she would stay gone forever. He wondered what the likelihood was that she’d do it herself.

The fear in the kingdom was as palpable as the cold and Hans could feel it bounce off his skin. These people needed him; they needed someone to look to, someone who could smile and reassure and provide small comforts. Hans could do that. He acted the way a story character would, with bravery and assurance that the world was on his side. For all that happened in one night, it appeared it was.

Princess Anna fell into his arms so easily, he was genuinely surprised when she did not agree to marry him before she went up into the mountains. It was no matter; Anna had been up there for several days, she’d probably be down after several more. She found this Reindeer King, or she didn’t. He could help or he couldn’t. She’d come back down or she wouldn’t. These were the only options, and Hans could handle all of them. 

If the Reindeer King was removed, either due to non-existence or unwillingness to help, she’d come back down and they’d be wed and rule as king and queen - until the situation presented itself to make him just king. Anna was a clumsy girl, she had accidents. It wouldn’t be so bad to live with her for a while, she had this endearing desperation to be liked. She’d do anything. He could tell. 

If he could help, then he’d be handled with. He was a magic user, much like Elsa. And magic was uncontrollable, and scary, and plunged places into darkness. And even if his magic was different, it wouldn’t matter. The townspeople were already so afraid, rumors were spreading so easily, that removing him would be as easy as crushing a bug.

And if Anna never came back...well, he was already effectively king.


	6. Lost in the Woods

Anna woke up and everything was still. That had never happened to her before. In the castle, there were always workers up - usually long, long before she - running about and seeing to their duties. There were guests walking and food cooking and deliveries. Sometimes there was music. 

And when she was up in the mountains - as a child, and now - there was weather. Winds, raining, snow. There were bugs humming and birds in the trees and it was really quite a chorus. 

But it was early, and it was silent. Anna looked down and saw Kristoff sleeping peacefully on the mat by the fire - mouth open, like she slept. She laughed a little. But she didn’t want to wake him - she just wanted to go to the woods for a bit, and she felt like this was home still. She still knew the mountains, they were still a part of her. Even if she didn't really like how it happened. 

So she threw her cloak on (she’d slept in Kristoff’s sweater) and pulled on her outer skirt. When she stepped out she saw it was in fact lightly snowing, tiny snowflakes falling to the earth and kissing the ground. 

The deer should be around somewhere, and Anna figured she’d go wish them a good morning. She tilted her head back to catch some of the snowflakes. Breakfast! 

Sometimes the deer gathered around the cabin but it was clear as far as Anna could see. She wanted to trust her instincts, so she just picked the direction that looked right, and started walking. 

Leaves came down with the snow too - the wind had picked up a bit and shook them free. It was still so strange to her, to see fully bloomed trees covered in ice. But Anna supposed that not much time had passed at all. Things could change quickly, but it wasn’t common. Anna reached up and tugged at the branches to let snow fall down on top of her. Just small branches, bits of snow. 

She kept walking. She didn’t see the deer.

Anna didn’t want the deer to think she was just sneaking up on them so she tried to walk in a way that was purposeful, but peaceful. A way that said that she belonged here. She wanted to, in a way. 

Her mind got lost easily, and it walked so quickly down a path of wondering what things would’ve been like had she never left the mountains at all. What if she also had powers - maybe ice powers, maybe different. Her parents probably would’ve kept her up here, at least until she learned to control herself. Control herself enough. 

Anna didn’t dislike the mountains, so to say, when she was up in them. She was just very scared - she didn’t know what was happening to her, she didn’t know if her own body would betray her, and keep her from her family. 

But if she had, she would’ve had to take up with the trolls and learn how to be a functional person again. She would’ve been up with them in the mountains for years, maybe even a decade. It would’ve been her home longer than the palace. Perhaps every morning would be like the ones she shared with Kristoff.

A sharp gust of wind blew her back a few steps and Anna shivered, suddenly feeling as though she was improperly dressed. But she was a mountain girl now, she wanted to be, at least for a bit. So she had to be tough, and brave the cold. It didn’t seem to bother Kristoff, so why should it bother her?

…

Kristoff stirred awake and flipped to his stomach, trying to will his body to give him just another fifteen minutes of sleep. It was early yet, it had to be. He hadn’t heard Anna stir. He laid there, face in pillow, but the sleep cruelly did not come. Grumbling, he sat up, and looked over at the bed. 

She was gone. 

“Anna?” he called out, standing up. She was nowhere in the cabin - it was small, she couldn’t hide if she had wanted to. He looked out the window. “Anna?” 

Pulling on a sweater and in an increasing state of panic, Kristoff opened the door. “ **Anna?** ”

Had she just left? The worry dropped through him like a stone - that’d he said something, done something wrong and she left and returned. His help was not worth having to endure him. 

But then he processed the conditions - it was completely silent, the way it got before a big storm. Anna was not in the cabin, and the odds of her being sheltered right now were low. He looked down and saw small footprints heading deeper into the woods. 

Oh no.

Kristoff didn’t know where she was going, or why she’d decided to head out like this, but the storm would be here any minute now, and if she was trapped in the woods when it hit…

Well. He didn’t want to finish that thought. So he took off after her.

… 

Anna rolled the sleeves of the sweater down over her hands to serve as mittens. She was cold, and it was snowing harder now, and she was wondering if she was just being a baby or if she should really turn back. She hadn’t expected it to snow - or at least not like this - and the deer were still nowhere in sight. The wind was cutting through the sweater and the snow had soaked her hem up six inches. The wet fabric clung to her ankles and she’d have to shake it every time she walked. 

She could feel the winds blow up her skirts, cling to her wet ankles and calves. It was starting to prickle like pain, and Anna was starting to panic.

“I should go back.” she said to no one, and turned around - her steps were blowing away with the wind. 

“Oh no.” she bit her lip, trying to walk in as straight of a line as she could, hoping that she would remember landmarks she hadn’t made. Praying.

(It didn’t matter as much now, but still no more deer in sight.)

…

Kristoff didn’t know how close he got to her before the footsteps began to blow away, but he moved more slowly now, looking for signs. It could be anything - a hair stuck in some back, a disturbed branch with less snow, from someone pulling it. He had noticed she was doing that a lot, at the beginning of her stroll. 

The storm was getting worse, but Kristoff knew they weren’t even yet at the peak. He’d seen storms like this before - infrequently, but still. It could go on all day. It could last for multiple days. If he didn’t find Anna, there was a real chance she wouldn’t survive it. 

That thought preoccupied him more than the cut of the cold through his clothes, or the snow flying into his face. Only one of those three things would have a lasting effect.

He marked his trail as he moved, having enough experience out in these woods to know that if you did not leave a path, one would not be left for you. As he saw no other intentional markings, he assumed Anna did not think to do this. 

“Anna!” he called out, cupping his hands around his mouth. 

He listened.

He received no response. 

He kept moving, and saw another disturbed tree. He hoped it was her - it had to be. With so few clues, he had to take faith that each one was good; that it was real.

…

Anna was officially lost. She had tried to head back to the cabin, she had followed her own footsteps as far as they led her, but they were blown away and she was so very, very cold. She started to wonder if it was wiser to hunker down - find a tree trunk or curved rock and ball herself up. Conserve heat. Cover herself as completely as possible. Maybe she’d be able to regain some feeling in her fingers. 

She was shivering so much, it felt like she barely had control over her limbs. Her skirts had been soaked up a foot and a half and they clung to her calves. Her cloak carried water and she drew it around herself more out of hope than actual function - it was a big, wet blanket and she wasn’t sure if it was making her colder or helping. But she was too cold to think properly anyway. 

“Anna!”

Anna thought she heard her name - was she imagining it? Was it the wind? She furrowed her brow, thinking, but she heard it again - stronger, more earnest.

“ _ Anna _ !”

She knew his voice, it had to be him.

“K-Kristoff!” she said. As loud as she could manage, but quiet still.

…

“K-Kristoff!” 

He heard her - faintly, but he heard the direction, and he took off running. It had to be her. No one else knew his name.

He found her! Soaked through, huddled up, sunken to the ground. He picked her up and cradled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her and keeping her as tight as possible. He moved as quickly as he could through the snow, checking for the marks on he had left to create a trail. It took half an hour to get home, and she shivered violently, terrifyingly, the whole time. 

Kristoff placed her down in front of the fire, yanking the cloak off her and moving to stoke up the flame as high as it could be contained. He muttered to himself angrily. 

“What were you  _ thinking _ ?” he eventually said, looking down at her. “If you’d wanted to go outside you should’ve woken me, you should’ve told me!”

Anna sat there and shivered. 

“I’ve never been so worried in my entire life - Anna, if I hadn’t found you, you would’ve died!”

“But you did find me.” she smiled up at him. “Thank you!”

Kristoff exhaled angrily. “That doesn’t matter Anna - what if I hadn’t been able to? What if I had woken up later, or picked the wrong way to go? You would’ve frozen out there!”

“But I didn’t!” Anna insisted. 

“But you could’ve!” Kristoff said, dropping down to the floor and looking her angrily in the eye. “And I don’t know how I could live with letting you die!” 

Anna sat there, her shivering subsiding. She bit her lip and looked at him, before pushing the blanket back to hug him. He sighed, his voice shuttering, and pulled her up onto his lap. Her squeezed her - not uncomfortably, but tightly. She could hear his heart pounding. She tucked her head into his neck and closed her eyes.

He drew the blanket more closely around her, and they sat, quietly, in front of the fire.

… 

Anna was grateful that he’d save her, don’t get it wrong. She was just confused as to why he was in such a passion about it. She’d never seen anyone react like that. He was worried, and that was understandable. She had behaved stupidly, and risked her life. He had risked his own to follow her.

As soon as her shivering had calmed down she changed clothes, and they’d spent the day mostly quietly in front of the fire. He held her, a lot, making sure that she got all of his body heat. She was so warm, tucked up against him, but he was so  _ big _ .

They’d taken breaks - for him to get more firewood, to fix them a meal, to make the cabin more comfortable. Anna had never felt safer than when she had Kristoff looking after her. But the sun dipped low in the sky and set, even as the storm continued to rage outside. Eventually, she climbed into bed, and Kristoff sat by the light of the large fire, starting to knit another sweater.

Anna closed her eyes and scenes from the day rushed at her like a herd - her sliding footing, the rushing snow, the piercing cold-

Anna shivered a little, sitting up in the bed. It was the aftereffects of that day, it was the bit of the outdoors that creeped in, it was a chill from a source she couldn’t place. She was looking at Kristoff, he was looking at her.

He sighed a bit and stood, walking over and picking her up. She laughed a bit, at the surprise of it all, and he placed himself down on the left side of the bed, pulling her tight against him.

“I can’t have you be cold.” 

Anna blushed from her cheeks to her toes. She was very warm now.

She rolled over and faced him, their noses almost touching. “I’m sorry.” she said finally. “I was looking for the deer. I didn’t know a storm was coming.”

“I'm sorry for getting angry.” Kristoff said. “I was really scared, but I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” 

“Why do you-” Anna bit her lip, unsure whether it was wise to even ask this question. “I know you’re king, and that you wouldn’t want anyone to just  _ die _ , but why did you...care so much?”

“Anna…” Kristoff seemed to struggle to find the words for himself, but he looked at her in a way she’d never been seen. 

Sighing, going with her instincts, Anna scooted forward and kissed him.

Kristoff responded immediately, pulling her tighter against him and kissing her back. He had never kissed anyone before, never even seen it, but it was instinctual and it felt right to be with her in this way. When she broke apart her searched her face for answers, but she wordlessly leaned back in, and kissed him again. 


End file.
